


Ink and Honour: Meta, Notes, and References

by moonblossom



Series: Ink and Honour [2]
Category: Meta - Fandom, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: DVD Extras, Meta, Other, references, series notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-06
Updated: 2013-09-06
Packaged: 2017-12-25 19:38:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/956866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/pseuds/moonblossom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of explanations, resources, and decisions I've made regarding the Ink & Honour universe. Absolutely not vital to comprehension of the series, more of a conceit on my part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ink and Honour: Meta, Notes, and References

So, wow. This 'verse has gotten a lot more expansive than I'd ever intended it to, and it's starting to take on a life of its own. I've decided to compile a little list of notes, metas, and references that I've been using in the hopes that they might prove interesting or edifying to you.

The first thing to know about this series is that it is in no way intended to be historically or factually accurate in many ways. It is, first and foremost, fluffy fanfiction with fancy period window-dressings. That means there's going to be a lot of glossing over of the darker issues of the era, and, to a certain extent, creative liberties taken with language and daily life.

 _ **Story order:**_  
I am not necessarily writing these in chronological order, and due to the spanning timeframe of the primary epistolary story, some might come in at awkward times. If you'd like to read them in something resembling chronological order, this is what I would suggest.

  * Notes (this thing you're reading now!)
  * [Ink and Honour](845888)
  * [Pomp and Circumstance](956400) (Sherlock-centric, takes place in the middle of events in Ink and Honour) 
  * [Duty and Virtue](../1073896) (Sally Donovan-centric, takes place during the John and Sherlock's separation in I&H)
  * [Ginger and Lily](912766) (Irene/Harry, takes place towards the very end of events in I&H) 
  * [Mind and Body](924083) (John/Sherlock, takes place immediately following the conclusion of I&H) 
  * [Silver and Promise](../958686) (Molly/Greg, takes place sometime shortly following the conclusion of I&H)
  * [Clamour and Heat](../961545) (John/Sherlock, takes place several months following Pomp and Circumstance, immediately following Silver and Promise)
  * [Holly and Ivy](../980894) (Ensemble, takes place at the end of 1816, at Christmas)
  * [Pelt and Friction](../981249) (John/Sherlock, takes place after the events of I&H, chronology not particularly important)
  * [Malice and Respite](../1091453) (John/Sherlock, takes place in early 1817, after Holly and Ivy, chronology important)
  * [Guile and Passion](../1152969) (John/Sherlock, takes place in February 1817, chronology not exceptionally important but follows events in Malice and Respite)
  * [Softness and Leather](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1238413) (Irene/Kate/Harriet, timeframe ambiguous and unimportant loosely after Ginger and Lily, three-way femslash)
  * [Now and Forever](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1969794) (John/Sherlock, takes place sometime in 1817, final story in the main arc)



_**A note on the names:**_  
If you're familiar with actual Regency-era literature or history, odds are you've noticed that I am doing something very wrong with the way people in this 'verse refer to each other. In both the letters and the stories, most of the main group of characters generally refer to each other by their given names. A few use surnames, but that tends to follow the pattern of the show (everyone referring to her as Mrs. Hudson, Sherlock referring to Lestrade by his surname, etc.). This would not have been done back then, at least not by anyone of decent social standing. Elderly relatives might refer to their children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews by given name, and siblings would in private, but anyone else would refer to their friends, compatriots, and cohorts by their titles and/or surnames.

I chose to circumvent this for a couple of reasons. The first (and most important) being that when it comes to this fandom, if you start throwing around too many Holmeses and Watsons, especially when you're already using slightly dated/stuffy language and slang, it starts to feel more like ACD fanfiction. ACD fanfiction is amazing, don't get me wrong, but I am very much trying to evoke the BBC series here. By continually referring to the leads as John and Sherlock, rather than Watson and Holmes, I am hoping to reinforce that delineation. Secondly, Mycroft makes a lot more appearances in this series than he did in ACD canon, and there'd just be too many damned Holmeses running around if I referred to them both by their surnames rather than their given names.

 ** _Homosexuality in a historical context:_**  
The fact that everyone is willing to turn a blind eye to - or actively encourage, in some cases (Mrs. Hudson I am looking at you) - John and Sherlock's "aberrant" behaviour is very much inaccurate here. During the time this story is intended to take place, sodomy was an offence for which you could be thrown in gaol, or even put to death. A long-term homosexual relationship was not the sort of thing most people would have openly risked.

Homosexual relationships may have taken place in very private locations, behind closed doors, but the odds of anyone writing down florid confessions that could have gone awry, of their landlady being so open an accepting (and blabbing to everyone), and the scion of the Holmes family begrudgingly acknowledging and doing nothing are all pretty damned unlikely. Even if they were lucky enough to find a landlady willing to tolerate this sort of thing under her roof, she would never tell anyone for fear of repercussion, and Sherlock's brother would likely have forced him into a loveless marriage for the intention of carrying on the family name and keeping up proper appearances.

But again, this is primarily intended to be a fluffy humorous romance, not a historical essay on the social injustices of the era. If this story were even remotely accurate, it would end with both of our silly boys pining away and terrified to confess, and probably someone getting beaten up - or worse. And I'm certain some folks could write a fantastic story with this premise, but I am not those folks. I live on fluff and unicorns and overly-sweet baked goods. Sorry!

 _ **On the language:**_  
Generally, Regency-era English is not particularly different from the language we use now. More florid, certainly, but not too different besides. However, you've likely noticed I don't tend to use contractions (and yet there are two in this sentence alone, go figure). Contractions are a bit of a finicky thing - prior to the early eighteenth century, they were fairly commonplace. Hell, look at Shakespeare. He looooved him some contractions. But someone somewhere (as people are wont to do) decided that they were improper, especially for higher, educated classes, and their usage in the written word pretty much died out there for a while.

In an effort to reinforce the formal, slightly stilted speech patterns that people affected, I've chosen to avoid almost all contractions and lay on thick with the adjectives and adverbs.

Regency cant and slang also has a lot of strange little quirks and idiosyncrasies, but it can be a lot of fun to play with. I try not to lay it on too thick because it can definitely come across as jarring and affected when you start throwing every era-appropriate slang term you can find into a two-thousand word story, but when it flows smoothly, I like to toss in expressions we wouldn't use nowadays. See below for a few lists of slang and cant that I've been referring to.

I hope that clears up a few things about this verse. If you have any questions about anything happening in here, or why I've chosen to write something a certain why, please hit me up. You can always comment on the story in question or hit up my [Ask Box](http://moonblossom.tumblr.com/ask) on tumblr.

 _ **Fanart/Gifts:**_  
Probably in large part due to the gorgeous clothing and general aesthetic of the period, this 'verse seems to have resonated much more strongly with all you amazing creative people than anything else I've worked on. I have received some amazing, gorgeous fanart, and will continue to add to this list if I am lucky enough to get any more.

If you are interested in doing any derivative or transformational work (fanart, graphics, podfic, remixes, translations, one-shot stories, etc) based on this series, you have my permission. All I request is that you link to the original series, and you let me know so I can squee over it! Stuff like that always makes me incredibly happy, and with my neurosurgery recovery in this weird frustrating plateau phase recently, I need all the happy I can get :D

  * [Sherlock lounging in his banyan coat](http://khorazir.tumblr.com/post/54034771623/for-moonblossom-an-illustration-for-her-brilliant), by Khorazir
  * [Ink and Honour chibi cast](http://against-stars.tumblr.com/post/54073966526/well-this-escalated-quickly-impromptu-cast-lineup), by against-stars
  * [Sherlock and John on a stroll, and Soldier John](http://bachin221b.tumblr.com/post/55068987304/for-moonblossom-from-her-regency-era-au-ink-and), by dee (dralore-shimare)
  * [Sensual and NSFW portrait of Harriet (with Irene off-screeen)](http://urbanhymnal.tumblr.com/post/57833388218/for-moonblossoms-ginger-and-lily), by UrbanHymnal
  * [Photomanipulated portraits of the whole cast](http://moonblossom.tumblr.com/post/56374576046), by me. Not exactly fanart, since I made them myself, but a good visual reference.
  * [Sherlock reading John's letters](http://jackie-illustration.tumblr.com/post/60861176482/finally-for-moonblossom-for-this-wonderful), by jackie-illustration
  * [Sherlock in a lovely purple coat, writing a letter](http://elimaryholmes.tumblr.com/post/60875285089), by elimaryholmes (Elizabeth Mary Holmes)
  * [Sherlock and John colouring book page](http://voodooling.tumblr.com/post/64178367909/my-entry-for-the-sherlock-coloring-book-regency), by voodooling
  * [Coloured version of voodooling's gorgeous colouring page](http://moonblossom.tumblr.com/post/64262158005/so-i-wrote-ink-honour-and-voodooling-made-this), coloured by me with permission
  * [Handsome Sherlock](http://threadear.tumblr.com/post/67216475505/regency-sherlock-for-moonblossom-inspired-by), by threadear
  * [B&W Sherlock](http://elimaryholmes.tumblr.com/post/67100491243), by elimaryholmes
  * [John, Sherlock, and grumpy Mycroft at the ball](http://your-average-joke.tumblr.com/post/72298012883/pleaseworkpleasework-secret-santa-submission-for), by your-average-joke
  * [Ink and Honour fanmix](http://voodooling.tumblr.com/post/76162551339/ink-honour-a-regency-fanmix-for-and-inspired), by voodooling. The perfect soundtrack for the series! How cool is that?
  * [John and Sherlock](http://your-average-joke.tumblr.com/post/79222878308/regency-lock-from-moonblossoms-fantastic-ink-and) writing fond notes to each other, by your-average-joke
  * [Sherlock in his corset looming over John](http://against-stars.tumblr.com/post/82731491557/sherlock-beautiful-and-predatory-followed-john), by against-stars (NSFW)
  * [Dapper Sherlock speedpaint request](http://makanivalur.tumblr.com/post/91993601162/moonblossom-asked-for-regency-sherlock-again), by makanivalur
  * [Regency John and Sherlock](http://justaholmesboy.tumblr.com/post/90105157958/regency-johnlock-for-aconissa-i-hope-that-came), by justaholmesboy. Not specifically I&H fanart but captures the boys perfectly
  * [Molly](http://urbanhymnal.tumblr.com/post/138819260586/regency-era-molly-a-companion-piece-to-regency-era) and [Lestrade](http://urbanhymnal.tumblr.com/post/138749533966/regency-era-lestrade) by UrbanHymnal



_**Links and resources:  
**_ These links are by no means a comprehensive collection of the resources I've used, they're just the links I found myself visiting most often. My history is a bit of a hilarious mess right now.

  
_Homosexuality in the Regency era:_

  * <http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.ca/2007/10/crime-punishment-homosexuality-in.html>
  * <http://www.examiner.com/article/bisexuality-and-homosexuality-the-british-regency-era-ann-herendeen-interview-part-2>



_Regency cant and slang:_

  * <http://austenauthors.net/blast-your-timbers-and-other-regency-slang-by-nina-benneton>
  * <http://www.stephanieboles.com/Regency_Glossary.html>
  * <https://sites.google.com/site/regencymurdermystery/slang>



_A note about contractions:_

  * <http://historicallyirrelevant.com/post/3505130893/the-history-of-contractions>




End file.
